Odds on Tim Tebow making it in the MLB
I'll give you 200 to 1 this year, on $1.
If I win you don't have to pay. But I still get to call you names.
If you win I'll send you $200.
You can choose to trust me for the $200 or not.
If you do, there are other names that might apply ;-)
Quote: DRichI was hoping for odds similar to above. C'mon people step it up if you don't believe there is any way he can make a MLB roster as one of the 40 players they are allowed to have on the team at one time.
Lol, I'd bet the farm on this one. However, I don't suspect my $20 to your $0.01 will be all that fun for you. And $20 is like $200 more than I have =p
Quote: FaceLol, I'd bet the farm on this one. However, I don't suspect my $20 to your $0.01 will be all that fun for you. And $20 is like $200 more than I have =p
I am willing to barter if you want to put up your Quad and 1000 books of stamps. :)
Quote: DRichI was hoping for odds similar to above. C'mon people step it up if you don't believe there is any way he can make a MLB roster as one of the 40 players they are allowed to have on the team at one time.
Actually, MLB rosters include only 25 players -except after Sept 1 (when the rosters increase to 40 players) when they are allowed to call up minor league players who are ineligible for the MLB post-season. Tebow might actually get called up after Sept 1 as a marketing gimmick and DRich appears to realize that -because he specifically called out 40-man rosters. But I very much doubt that Tebow would ever get onto a 25-man MLB roster -that is, make a MLB team during the period April 1 to Aug 31.
BTW, Danny Ainge (Celtics) and Rick Leach (NFL QB) were two other multi-sport guys who played MLB.
John Elway spent a summer in the Yankee organisation.
Quote: billryanNBA Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere played for the White Sox, as did Yankee pitcher Steve Hamilton. Former Cowboy Cornell Green played in the NBA.
John Elway spent a summer in the Yankee organisation.
1960 NL MVP Dick Groat played one year in the NBA. There are some crossover guys. In Groat's case, he was also an All American in basketball at Duke and the Helms Player of the Year in 1952. He excelled at both sports during his developing years.
Quote: gordonm888... Tebow might actually get called up after Sept 1 as a marketing gimmick and DRich appears to realize that -because he specifically called out 40-man rosters.
Winner Winner chicken dinner. I think the odds are still against it but don't be shocked if it happens.
Quote: FaceDangerous bet. There is NO WAY he ever plays, but someone might just snag him "because reasons", which would technically put him on the roster.
That's why I wouldn't do it either; his inclusion on a roster might not be merit-based. Otherwise I'd offer 1000-1 and be 100% confident in keeping my $20k.
Quote: MoscaThat's why I wouldn't do it either; his inclusion on a roster might not be merit-based. Otherwise I'd offer 1000-1 and be 100% confident in keeping my $20k.
I agree 100% that his inclusion on a roster this year would not be merit based.
Quote: FaceDangerous bet. There is NO WAY he ever plays, but someone might just snag him "because reasons", which would technically put him on the roster.
I was gonna LOL at Mosca for making such a silly sport out to be some difficult task. I remember my sadist coach (best coach I ever had) would crank the pitching machine all the way up, snap off the knob, have two kids hold it because it wanted to run away it was flying so fast, used those damnable dimpled pitching machine balls, and put the f#$%ing thing in front of the dirt on the mound. Ever hit a 110mph knuckle ball from 60'? Or a 110mph curve ball that curves UP like in softball? Or a slider so nasty it starts off behind you, passes in front of you, and still misses the backstop? And we thought shagging 600' moon shots was bad ><
The ease is what killed ball for me. I hated hitting. There was no action whatsoever. Every time I got up I knew I was getting on base, knew I was stealing until I got to third, and hopefully walking in if my peers put it in play. Hated it. Get me back in the field where I could do something, where I had to try. Hitting was a complete foregone conclusion.
BUT, I saw somewhere someone posted that Tebow ain't played since HS?! Ain't no f#$%ing way that man is gonna play ball. No. Way. Unless he can pitch, he'll only be some team's pretty. Some unique trinket they can show off. The odds of him "making it", like actually playing, are simply 0.
Shoot man, I know you are athletic from reading your stuff for years, but someone must have scouted you and waved a lot of money in your face (Face?). There are a lot of guys making big bucks who don't love the game. Jeff King was famous for hating the game, and pocketed $18 mil during the 1990s. Pedro Alvarez is the DH for the Orioles, shows absolutely no passion, he can't play the field (incompetent at that level) and he's made about $15mil so far just for hitting a ball; it beats APing, y'know? Collect the $$ until they stop paying you, then go retire somewhere out of the light, go fishing and hunting and racing and playing club hockey without any money worries.
Quote: gordonm888Actually, MLB rosters include only 25 players -except after Sept 1 (when the rosters increase to 40 players) when they are allowed to call up minor league players who are ineligible for the MLB post-season. Tebow might actually get called up after Sept 1 as a marketing gimmick and DRich appears to realize that -because he specifically called out 40-man rosters. But I very much doubt that Tebow would ever get onto a 25-man MLB roster -that is, make a MLB team during the period April 1 to Aug 31.
BTW, Danny Ainge (Celtics) and Rick Leach (NFL QB) were two other multi-sport guys who played MLB.
Who was the guy who got signed once a decade in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s when the rosters increased?
Quote: DrawingDeadI took the high school batting average comment as a 'tongue-in-cheek' half-kidding sort of remark.
But whatever the Tebow guy may do, this has reminded me that I'm overdue to check out the nearby 'home team' again. That'd be the fabulously welcoming Las Vegas Area 51s (NY Mets AAA farm team) who have a 4 game series starting tomorrow with the world renowned New Orleans Zephyrs (Miami Marlins AAA farm team). Tickets for the spectacular occasion will set me back the princely sum of $11 + tax, and if I go Saturday I get a free backback with that cool alien head logo on it. Or on Monday their promotion sponsored by a supermarket chain is to price hot dogs, popcorn, Cracker Jack, and pretzels all at one dollar; and that's a promotion that can put my butt in their seat. I expect I may see someone who'll eventually become a star or at least a pretty darn good player, someone else who'll manage to put together a career as a useful bench player or situational specialist type for someone, and a few dozen others giving it everything they've got that'll eventually be telling their grandkids that they actually played with 'that guy' back in the day. And I also expect that I may not have much better than a vague guesstimate of which of them will turn out to be what.
Been to a couple 51s games, plus a Mets/Cubs exhibition at Cashman. It's a really good time. This would be a good idea for a WoV meetup.
Quote: AZDuffmanWho was the guy who got signed once a decade in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s when the rosters increased?
Satchel Paige.
Quote: MoscaSatchel Paige.
Paige died in 1982. Pretty show the answer has a pretty unique first name.
Quote: RigondeauxQuote: DrawingDeadI took the high school batting average comment as a 'tongue-in-cheek' half-kidding sort of remark.
But whatever the Tebow guy may do, this has reminded me that I'm overdue to check out the nearby 'home team' again. That'd be the fabulously welcoming Las Vegas Area 51s (NY Mets AAA farm team) who have a 4 game series starting tomorrow with the world renowned New Orleans Zephyrs (Miami Marlins AAA farm team). Tickets for the spectacular occasion will set me back the princely sum of $11 + tax, and if I go Saturday I get a free backback with that cool alien head logo on it. Or on Monday their promotion sponsored by a supermarket chain is to price hot dogs, popcorn, Cracker Jack, and pretzels all at one dollar; and that's a promotion that can put my butt in their seat. I expect I may see someone who'll eventually become a star or at least a pretty darn good player, someone else who'll manage to put together a career as a useful bench player or situational specialist type for someone, and a few dozen others giving it everything they've got that'll eventually be telling their grandkids that they actually played with 'that guy' back in the day. And I also expect that I may not have much better than a vague guesstimate of which of them will turn out to be what.
Been to a couple 51s games, plus a Mets/Cubs exhibition at Cashman. It's a really good time. This would be a good idea for a WoV meetup.
Can you bet on the minors?
Quote: billryanPaige died in 1982. Pretty show the answer has a pretty unique first name.
Different guy then, I remember this guy in the 1990s. White Sox IIRC.
Quote: AZDuffmanWho was the guy who got signed once a decade in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s when the rosters increased?
Manny Mota
Quote: AZDuffmanWho was the guy who got signed once a decade in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s when the rosters increased?
Minosa played for Cleveland in 1949 and the White Sox in 1980. He was the last player to play in five consecutive decades.
Quote: HunterhillManny Mota
Oops ya Minnie Minoso not Manny Mota
Quote: DRichMinosa played for Cleveland in 1949 and the White Sox in 1980. He was the last player to play in five consecutive decades.
Guy I'm talking about was some old guy signed for one game, it was on news when I was in college in 1990s. But I remember nothing else. He may have been black I think, not even sure there.
But I wasn't familiar with his time in professional baseball, so I checked his stats on Baseball-Reference.com. He was drafted and signed with the Blue Jays while still at BYU, and after college he was whisked through the minors pretty fast. While spending parts of three seasons playing big-league baseball in Toronto it seems he lost his cape and the batmobile got towed away, as he produced a less than mediocre slash line of 220/264/269 with a -2.0 WAR. I don't know how to speak Canadian so I don't know if "Ainge" would be the term that translates to "Mendoza" up there.
Then he switched to basketball, where he apparently discovered his soiled cape stuffed under the tire in the trunk of the batmobile, as he was a leader on teams that won multiple championships in Boston, and later also went to the finals and made deep playoff runs with multiple other basketball franchises in other cities. Or so I'm told by folks who know about such things. And he's now President and General Manager of the Celtics. It seems the switch from a little white ball to a big orange one was prolly a good move for him.
*If you are Adam Eaton
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/766113533536927744
Former Yankee Mike Morgan being an example.
I think I just got the answer to this: No.Quote: djatcCan you bet on the minors?
Today I had a conversation with a supervisor at the Westgate book about some other things, and remembered this question. He said no, they don't take bets on them. As far as he knows they never have, and he volunteered that he hasn't heard of anyone else doing so.
The possibility never crossed my mind until you asked. I would've been a little surprised by a different answer, but it wouldn't be the first time. Because some low level minor league players aren't paid well,, someone might think some shady monkey business could happen more easily there, but I mostly put that thought aside. I imagine there would probably be problem with too little betting action spread across so many teams playing so many games.
I see about 200-ish minor league baseball games are scheduled this weekend. With probably close to about a hundred a day being played between almost 200 teams day after day, I think a bet on some of those games might not even have any action on the other side. And with all those events daily without a big liquid betting market) I believe someone willing to do the work could develop a huge information advantage over the line setters on a bunch of cherry-picked targets. In fact, if I got a different answer I'd have a high priority new project. I'd want to get on it like white on rice.
I don't know the fellow I got this answer from beyond his nametag, and of course wrong answers aren't exactly unheard of in that business, even from guys wearing suits. But I believe his answer, FWIW. So, sadly, I don't think either of us will be getting rich off the Savannah Bananas and the Wichita Wingnuts any time soon. And I'm not rushing to pack my bags for a trip to Kannapolis. Sniff.
EDIT: To assassinate a lot of extra words, for clarity. I get diarrhea of the keyboard when I'm tired.
Quote:Tim Tebow threw and hit some baseballs in front of 40 MLB scouts yesterday, and didn’t seem to impress too many of them. One scout described him as an “actor trying to portray a baseball player”....
Hey, if he does well enough in A/AA, he could end up right (t)here in Vegas with the 51's. Big 'if' though.
Quote: DRichMinosa played for Cleveland in 1949 and the White Sox in 1980. He was the last player to play in five consecutive decades.
I think Minnie last played in 1976 with 8 at bats. He did hit .311 AT AGE 38. Won 3 gold gloves, and that award did not exist until he was 35 years old
I'm seeing unofficial reports that the Mets came up with $100k for a signing bonus to win whatever bidding there may have been. I wouldn't call that very spendy at all as raw player development lottery-ticket style prospects go, even though I might be persuaded to take it myself if you throw in some subway tokens and New York level meal money.
Nope, Buzzard, er, "487 Tracy." When looking at his stats it may appear that '76 was the end. And I guess it sorta pretty much was. But he was activated for two games by the White Sox in 1980.Quote: 487tracydriveI think Minnie last played in 1976 with 8 at bats. He did hit .311 AT AGE 38. Won 3 gold gloves, and that award did not exist until he was 35 years old
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/minosmi01.shtml
Quote:Last Game: October 5, 1980 (Age 54.311) vs. CAL 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
http://www.minoso.com/minnie%20minoso%20Biography.html
Quote:In 1980, he would join the White Sox for two games and thus become one of only two five-decade players in major league history.
Which gets to the reason I'm resigning my trial membership in the lukewarmish neutral camp & officially joining the 'Tebow = toast' camp today. Because he doesn't have the right kind of baseball name to pull this kind of thing off at all. Like a Minnie Minoso or Manny Mota or Mookie Betts or Coco Crisp. There's no echo of a rosin bag or pine tar in "Tim" at all, and he's no son of Ted Williams, so I'm not buyin' it. He's not even qualified in that way to be one of the fancy-dancey twinkle-toes new-age types in the baseball name department with a high-rent kinda baseball name like Arizona's Socrates (Brito) or Seattle's Archimedes (Caminero). "Tim" is not much of a basketball name either, surely can't jump; straight-up football name and nuttin' else, so if his football thing is over, I'm sayin' he's done. So there.
ADDENDUM: And in what I'm now convinced is related news, it saddens me that I'm gonna have to miss the Cardinals' interesting promo giveaway tomorrow:
Quote:Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead
Relive one of the most memorable baseball moments in history! 30,000 fans ages 16 & older will receive an Eddie Gaedel bobblehead commemorating his historic plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns in 1951, courtesy of Maryville University!
Short video description of promo & origin of Gaedel's two and a half minutes of little greatness: http://m.mlb.com/video/v1095527483/eddie-gaedel-bobblehead-night-by-maryville-university
https://mobile.twitter.com/BNightengale/status/773911880817455104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Tim Tebow hit a home run on his very first at bat on the very first pitch.
Quote: JoelDeze
Tim Tebow hit a home run on his very first at bat on the very first pitch.
Isn't is funny that the news media doesn't report that he was out his next five at bats and ended 1-6 batting 0.166.
Quote: DRichIsn't is funny that the news media doesn't report that he was out his next five at bats and ended 1-6 batting 0.166.
If you popped out or grounded out 5 times and hit 1 home run would you say you did okay? It's not like he struck out 5 times. His worst play was grounding out in a double play. Other than that, he hit the ball solid the entire day.
And, look at Game 2 now:
Game Two
He went 2-4 with one RBI and two runs scored. He also had a walk and a strikeout. So, he's now 3 for 10.
More importantly, he was ahead in the count on almost every at bat which means he's seeing things fairly well. One of his hits was against a 97 mph fastball.
In 60 at bats the Tebow dude finished with a batting average of .183, a .269 on-base pct, .233 slugging pct, 0 home runs, and a .502 OPS. Not so good, to be polite about it, unless you're a pitcher. He's not a pitcher. I assume the next step, if there is one, would be an invite to spring training. Or not, depending on the purpose he and the Mets have in mind.
MLB Auctioning Off Ridiculous Baseball From Tim Tebow Groundout ($160.00)
People Are Bidding Over $800 On A Game-Worn Tim Tebow Mets Jersey, For Some Reason ($910.00)
Still don't think he will make the majors, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets called up to AA Binghamton before the end of the season.
Think you are thinking of Julio Franco. Guy played in the majors for like 18 teams is 25 seasons. Started in 82, finished in 2007. Played for the white Sox in 94.
Edit: Forgot to quote....n00b!
Still, this is a long way from MLB. I recently bet that he wouldn't taste the majors this year at -750.
Part of the reason is that, because getting to the majors is a long process with a lot of hard work for almost every player, even with a ton of talent, it would be seen as a huge slap in the face to bring him up as a novelty act IMO. The analogy I thought of was earning your PhD in physics, and then having one given to a youtube star, in hopes that she would make a video about it and create attention for the university.
If they do bring him up, better make sure not to have him hit against an old school SOB like Strickland.
Quote: Rigondeaux
Part of the reason is that, because getting to the majors is a long process with a lot of hard work for almost every player, even with a ton of talent, it would be seen as a huge slap in the face to bring him up as a novelty act IMO. The analogy I thought of was earning your PhD in physics, and then having one given to a youtube star, in hopes that she would make a video about it and create attention for the university.
I would consider it more similar to Honorary Degrees that schools give out all the time. If he sticks with it through next year I think they will bring him up to the majors even if it is just for a game or two.
I'd actually have no problem with the opposing pitcher plunking him, even though I kinda like Tebow.
Quote: RigondeauxSomething many guys work tirelessly for many years to achieve. And, it would take a very nice paycheck from a AAAA player who earned it and could use it.
I don't disagree but I think we all know life isn't always fair. If they believe it will make the business more money it is going to happen.
Quote: RigondeauxFunny, after doing much worse at low A. Extremely impressive. I was impressed that he hit .220 with 3 HRs at low A.
Still, this is a long way from MLB. I recently bet that he wouldn't taste the majors this year at -750.
Part of the reason is that, because getting to the majors is a long process with a lot of hard work for almost every player, even with a ton of talent, it would be seen as a huge slap in the face to bring him up as a novelty act IMO. The analogy I thought of was earning your PhD in physics, and then having one given to a youtube star, in hopes that she would make a video about it and create attention for the university.
If they do bring him up, better make sure not to have him hit against an old school SOB like Strickland.
But you gotta think of it from the business side of the house. Come Sept when the Mets are 20 games out of first the team still wants fans to show up, so why not call him up? See what he can do and give people a reason to show up. I feel like a Sept call up is a very high possibilty.
I love baseball, but hate the Mets. Having tickets to one of their farm teams still bothers me, but I enjoy the game itself.
